Righto party people, we had a good run, we got a beautiful S1 of OFMD unmarred by bullshit, which was the first time a lot of us had seen queer rep in that way. It meant a lot, it's been my hyperfixation for a couple years at this point! I even met Rhys, Vico, and Samson this weekend gone, which was unfortunately a bit soured by everything going on.
It boils down to this: how can I enjoy a show with themes of anti-colonialism and rising up against oppressive powers, knowing one of the biggest people behind its creation, Taika Waititi, is himself in signing letters in support of Israel as they occupy and mass slaughter Palestinians. The whole thing smacks of hypocrisy. As someone in the UK, I couldn't watch this recent season in a way that financially supported it anyway. But it's about more than that. I don't know how fans can continue to comfortably engage with it.
We had widespread abandonment and condemnation of JKR in queer circles after her TERF bullshit, and yes it took a while to catch on and for people to realise the smear campaign against an entire group of people wasn't worth them holding onto that piece of media. It's hard letting go of something that means so much. Or is it? I personally was never a huge HP fan, so I didn't share that struggle. But here? With OFMD? Yeah it's safe to say this show has been my life for a couple years. I'm heartbroken this is going down the way it has, and I don't mean that to have anything to do with the quality of the media in S2. It's not a relevant factor when its creator starring actor and co-creator is ADVOCATING GENOCIDE*. If that doesn't put you off, I don't really have more to say.
My conclusion? It's not hard to let go, you just don't think it's important.
I think, unless there is significant backtracking and work done to undo this damage, and even then probs not, this will be my last OFMD post.
Fuck you Taika, you betrayed your fans, but you also betrayed yourself by forgetting the things you used to stand for. Eat shit.
*some people have pointed out that pro-Israeli support is not inherently advocating genocide, because Taika may be ignorant to what's really going on. This is possible, however, firstly, if you don't fully understand something, don't fucking advocate for it. Secondly, intentional or not, he has contributed to a pro-genocidal rhetoric, by signing a letter that one-sidedly condemned Hamas taking hostages without awareness that Israel has taken far more, and for someone in his position of influence, that amounts to the same impact. Obscuring nuance pushes a biased narrative. It's insidious and easily denied.
the reason I love ofmd is because it shows what it means to be queer and trans and neurodivergent. like that's it. everyone is a little into each other, any kind of relationship goes and there's no questioning from everyone else. their identities don't get in the way of their character arcs. jim gets to be trans and poly and there doesn't need to be 3 episodes to explain it. stede and ed? bro that's literally autism4autism. there's no male gaze or female gaze. that soft ass ponytail ed was rocking is straight up queer gaze. the love story gets to progress beyond what any queer story written for/by straight people could do and way beyond the typical hetero romance. I love the humanity of it all. I love the way people can do bad things but they can still be loved. they can be in the wrong and need to change their actions and mindsets but still be loveable. that's what makes me love it. unconditional acceptance
I gasped when I realized that Stede was about to invent walking the plank. I didn't realize that was something actually said about the historical Stede Bonnet!
oh i get it. the tally marks, 'we've got a record to break.' ed was baiting ned low deliberately. he had to know low would come after him: low was ed's original passive suicide plan.
but it was stede, tortured and goaded to cold-blooded murder, who paid the price.
After seeing some rather awful bad faith takes flying around after 2x7, I'm throwing out a beginning defense of Stede Bonnet (loml). It seems insulting Ed's fish is the worst thing that anyone has ever seen, and it really seems to be a continuation of anti-Stede sentiments within the fandom and viewing him as a prop for Ed (and sometimes Izzy) rather than his own character. Fanon Stede is ever patient, ever kind, ever devoted to his partner, and I'm seeing a lot of shock that Stede is a flawed, imperfect person with his own needs, that he says things in the heat of the moment, that people are seeing a less interesting character than what DJenks and friends have created. Stede's a fucking lunatic and I like it.
I'm going to break this into a few posts as I ramble on to the end of 2x7. I have big thoughts on the ending, but I need to lead up to it! I am going to try to be as brief as I can up to the lead up, but I'm not happy with certain parts of the fandom right now (it's just a spat, love you all).
(If you haven't seen the "I hate Stede!" and "I'm so mad at Stede!" posts after 2x7, I am so, so jealous of how you have curated your social media experience.)
Part 1: Season 1
In time budgeting, most of Stede's character introduction and motivations are built into 1x1 through 1x3, but you all know it is a common refrain of these episodes: "Just wait for episode 4!" (OK for newbies, but huge side eye from me with people who have watched multiple times.) Episode 4 is when Act 2 of 3 of Season 1 begins. The foundations of the story have been laid, the cast has been fully assembled, and we enter the rising action (i.e., the meat) of the story in 1x4. It is not that Blackbeard alone improved everything: it was the story structure itself that shifted.
Preferring Act 2 (ep 4 to mid ep 8) and saying Act 1 was bad and "boring" is a disservice to the story and really robs yourself of the payoff action in Act 3 of Season 1 (and now Season 2), in particular with regards to Stede's character. It's a TV show, so you don't have to like all parts or watch it equally, but if you're going to criticize Stede and what he does, you can't ignore the part of the story that tells you the why of everything.
For example, we see people saying Prince Ricky is "exactly how Stede used to be!". Episode 3 disagrees.
Ricky is some Evil Star Trek Mirror Universe version of Stede, and they have fundamental differences in their view of piracy, which feeds into the action of the tail end of Season 2: Stede wants to be part of the piracy world, but Ricky thinks he's above it. The few hours in 2x7 that Stede spends enjoying being cool in the Republic of Pirates is overall sweet (sliding past the murder, lol), not a relationship red flag or Stede being a dick. If you tried to join a group and they finally embraced you, how would you initially act? Being excited for a few hours does not mean Stede has made a forever commitment to piracy and not Ed.
But, I digress. To me, Episode 2 (along with 6, 9, and 10) is far and away the peak of Season 1. We see the crew bonding (and those unique interactions are missing in Season 2's truncated runtime), and we get a deeper look into Stede's head: his initial naivety toward violence, his insecurities, his unique captaincy style and problem solving. If I look at just his insecurities, Badminton's Ghost is Stede talking to himself (like Hornigold was vocalizing Ed's feelings in 2x3). Stede is harsh with himself about his abilities and maturity, and we even see that he took Badminton's petty body shaming in 1x1 to heart.
(Oh, I have thoughts on Stede finally being told he's pretty and then instantly dumped!)
But he continues to degrade himself.
"You're a child with a toy" Stede says to himself. Compare this to Ned Low calling him a "bumbling amateur" in 2x6. Real people voicing these thoughts (like Chauncey in 1x9) messes Stede up.
The local therapist clearly lays out the motivation behind 1x9&10, and Stede still continues with the negative self talk.
And then we get the best mantra!
Yes, baby! You can only be as good as you can be, and you deserve the world.
Stede does not banish his guilt that is haunting him, but Ed comes in at Episode 4, and any more serious feelings is all about Ed.
(Second GIF is a joke. I know it's important to Ed's character. Plz, don't be mad.)
Ed is the deuteragonist, and the story now needs to spend time establishing Ed's character and motivations. This doesn't make Stede's go away, but if you only watch Episode 4 and on, that's what it looks like. There are brief moments of Stede's vulnerability and guilt from then, but not much.
(Side note from a Midwesterner: I've spent too much time finding out if "grain tower" is colloquial for "grain silo" somewhere, and I still don't know.)
Ed and Stede just met here. Ed isn't absorbing much of Stede's comments (Stede also feels trapped, Stede has family guilt, etc), but it goes the other way, too, doesn't it? Stede is recovering from his gut-stab, they're still in a life-or-death situation, and Stede is still feeling his guilt (and just saw more guilt ghost hallucinations). Registering and internalizing what Ed is saying doesn't take priority.
And they enter their cute early relationship phase: They have fun together! They can easily talk to one another! Stede easily forgives Ed wanting to kill him!
Again: in between all the cute and fun, all the heavy stuff is about Ed. Stede deals with the aristocrats who mocks Ed. Stede is gentle with Ed's red fabric. Stede listens to Ed's past without judgment. Stede openly accepts Ed as a friend. We don't see Ed engaging with Stede in a reciprocal manner.
(I was so delighted when Stede called some of this out in 2x4.)
Stede is a few steps behind in their relationship: He doesn't know it's a romance. He doesn't know he was flirting with Ed. He's not immediately understanding what the Act of Grace was to Ed (hubby commitment!) as he's having his Nigel guilt, family guilt, and being seconds away from death swamping him all at once.
In the academy, Ed isn't even listening to Stede. He's moved onto his domestic marriage role while Stede is dealing with his demons.
With 2x7, I see people saying, "Ed was very clear in wanting to leave piracy!" If he was speaking to someone fully engaged with him, I would agree. (That also doesn't make Stede having a few hours' fun the worst thing ever.)
(Aside of what I see below: In Season 2, I see overwhelming praise of Ed and Izzy's performances and very little on Stede. This is not to disparage TW or CO, but Ed and Izzy are more in-your-face and obvious with what is going on internally in their scenes and they are nailing the drama scenes. However, Stede becomes quieter, shutting down into himself, when having high feelings, and RD's acting is very subtle and very beautiful in these moments.)
In The (First) Kiss scene, Ed is clear! He just wants to be Ed, and Ed is happy just being with Stede.
But look what Ed walked in on:
Ed is saying things, but Stede is trying to process big feelings of his own at the same time. Stede is there self soothing, still thinking about what Ed ignored him about in the bunks. "How are you handling things so well?" means Stede isn't handling it well. Ed is excited, but he (and apparently some of the audience!) is brushing off all of what Stede is saying while expecting Stede to take to heart everything that Ed is saying. (I mean, the beginning of S2 shows why Ed is so excited for this life change, but it is frustrating!)
If you only feel bad for Ed at the end of 1x9, please try to imagine Stede's perspective: suppose you have low self worth and are consumed with guilt about people you've hurt and then are seconds away from death twice, are you going to be thinking clearly and prioritizing (and recognizing) the feelings of a guy you've known for a few weeks and didn't know you were dating?
Stede has drawn inward this whole conversation. His answers turn monosyllabic, and his body language turns more and more panicy as the heavy reality of everything sets in.
Stede enjoyed The Kiss, but was this the appropriate time for him? (Like Ed enjoyed The Sex, but was that the appropriate time for him?) They aren't in sync yet, but that doesn't make one party's feelings more valid than the other's or one party evil for being a bit ahead.
With 2x7, I don't know why people thought Stede should be a mind reader and be able to quickly piece together a few statements Ed made while Stede was mentally drowning.
I think it should be noted that as of the end of 2x7, Stede is the only crew member who hasn't had mental reflection and/or therapy in Season 2. He realized Mary, Alma, and Louis didn't need him and he was in love with Ed in 1x10, but the voice calling him a child with a toy, an idiot, weak, and ugly is still there.
The pacing of OFMD s2 is definitely quick. You can feel the compression in comparison to s1, and of course it would have been lovely if they'd been financed for the full 10 episodes, but I didn't actually find it *too* quick. It's economical, for sure, but that just makes it novelistic in the way it requires the viewer to make inferences and fill in background scenes for themselves. And crucially, it always (? I think?) gives us enough information and guidance to do that. I didn't experience any moments of confusion, at least. Nothing was incoherent. We're working within a clear and stable narrative frame -- you just have to make some of the connections for yourself, do a bit of the legwork to flesh things out. The narrative is robust enough that this isn't onerous; its honestly a joy to participate in that imaginative work, and it very cleverly deepens our investment in the story. Because part of it is ours, and our shared ownership is (astonishingly!) fully authorized. This crew is never going to scream "that's not what really happened!" or pull a bad-faith "gotcha." Instead they ask, "what do you think happened? How do you think that conversation went? How do you think that character got from A to B?" The economy of the storytelling requires us to answer. It solicits multiple interpretations and lends authority (author-ity) to a choir of voices instead of any single voice. This feels affirming; it feels so queer; it feels like yet another embrace from this very loving show.
(That said, I really would have loved to revel in a full 60 minutes of nonsense at Calypso's birthday party.)
It is so supportive to me - and Stede - that Ed showed up after Stede killed Ned. During the party when Ed was freaking out about the massive aggression, Stede took over and used his skills to get back at them.
When Izzy challenged Stede to a duel, Ed stands back, doesn't interfere and can't look. Just like the blanket fort, Ed wraps a blanket around himself, protecting himself. He doesn't go to Stede until after Izzy loses.
And then when Jack shows up, Stede uses his captain voice when the crew goes from liking Jack to hating him. He takes charge and sends Jack off the ship. And once again, Ed doesn't do anything, in fact he leaves with Jack. Stede became forceful and Ed leaves.
And Stede is glowing when Ed comes back. "Never left." Ed chose him, he chose to save him, to give up piracy.
And now with Ned, Stede makes another forceful choice. He kills Ned and Ed is disappointed. Stede is shaking, all of his past trauma coming to the surface and he retreats, goes to his quarters. Probably afraid that once again Ed will leave. That Ed won't want him.
But then Ed shows up! He doesn't leave. So of course Stede pulls him toward him. His man is there. We can't see Stede's face well, but I'm sure it's glowing with the same look in 1x8.
#Op I need u to know I thought this was about his post-coytal bedside manner when I read the first line#was fully expecting you to wax poetic about how Ed's mediocer attempt at making breakfast was actually a heartfelt attempt to make sure#he didn't feel like he was a One And Done type of thing#I was vibrating#and then it was s1 meta 💀 RIP LMAO (@zo1nkss, on this post)
No, absolutely, let's talk about it. Because this?
This is terrible. Comically bad. The worst anyone's ever done it, I'm sorry to say. The toast looks like it's covered in coal dust. The tea (? I hope it's tea, might as well be Ye Olde Cuba Libre) has clearly gone cold. Ed spooned the marmalade directly onto the tablet instead of just leaving it in the jar like a sane person, for fuck's sake!
Of course that's deliberate; they even make sure we know what the platonic ideal of a nice breakfast tablet looks like with the title card.
It's like an Expectation vs Reality meme. There's a flower, there's porcelain, there's even a plate! Ed, I know you've had breakfast before, why are you so bad at this?
Because, of course, this was doomed from the start.
Ed is panicking, because he knows falling into bed together right after everything that happened in 02x06 was a mistake, and he's desperately trying to salvage the situation.
Ed wanted to take things slow, because he wants stability. He wants to pursue happiness. He wants to build a beautiful life with someone he loves! Breakfast in bed every day!
Instead he to watch the love of his life be tortured in front of him, because of him, and then had to watch him intentionally kill a guy for the first time in his life - also because of him! This is the opposite of what he wanted, for himself or for Stede.
He wanted them both to be safe and happy, but instead they had an evening of horrible experiences and then had sex about it. It's all coming crashing down. Aside form the worst breakfast spread in known history, look how the scene is shot and coloured: The slightest green tint, just enough to turn the light harsh and cold, how far apart from each other they are. Tons of empty space in the frame. How they are backlit, so they are in the shadows, their faces barely discernible.
This isn't a happy Morning After. This is them standing at the ruins of what was supposed to be a beautiful moment, but the violence of piracy broke into it and destroyed it.
Ed knows he needs to leave it behind, once and for all. Throws out his Blackbeard kit to make his decision to abandon the pirate life irreversible. Tries to have a soft, domestic moment, shares the lovely story about Merstede coming to rescue him, in an attempt to salvage his dream of retirement with Stede.
But Stede? Oh, Stede is on an entirely different page. He just had his first real taste of the power violence can grant him. While the torture wasn't fun, in the end, he triumphed! Defended his love, defended his crew! And topped it all off with what was probably the first positive sexual experience in all his 40whatever years of life! He's patronizing and kinda bitchy about the whole spread, because he doesn't get what Ed is trying to tell him. All he sees is Ed being terrible at this domestic bullshit, but that's okay because he thinks he's terrible at it too!
They'll just sail the seas, terrorize the various empires and have adventures together, forever and ever! That's the dream, right? Right???
(Wait, what do you mean Last night was a mistake?)
it's also worth remembering, right, that ed and stede both wanted that night. ed gives stede a nod before stede kisses him. he kisses back enthusiastically. he goes to bed with stede. we see him sitting a little shyly, on stede's bed - still fully dressed, even, where stede's lost his shirt.
look at how achingly tender that face is. it's ed wanting to take care of stede the way no one took care of him; it's stede wanting to protect ed where he's failed in the past. it's a near-death situation drawing the love and need and desire out of them like bleeding a fever. it's accompanied by a romantic song. the imagery we're giving is fireworks. it's fucking fireworks for them.
the morning after, ed makes breakfast in bed. shares with stede the beautiful moment of his mermaid vision, which is an incredible show of vulnerability. you see the first sign of ed Having A Realization when stede says avoiding near-death situations isn't likely in their line of work.
then they go out to the republic of pirates, but ed takes stede out of the town and into the countryside, to a place where he feels safe. ed high-fives a child who isn't afraid of him. stede tells ed about writing him love letters. they're having a great day together, they're laughing, they're having fun.
it's not really until after ed sees stede becoming famous, until he sees stede stepping into the role of The Pirate, that he starts to pull away. jackie says he's trying to be a regular dude, and that sounds good to ed. trying something new. he wanders off to go watch fishermen and these shots are weird until you see that he's focusing on the twine the fish are caught up in - just like the twine he left stede on their breakfast tray, just like the twine he wrapped up his leathers in. and stede, who is feeling accepted and powerful and capable for the first time in his life, pulls back too.
they each want to be something the other is trying desperately to leave behind. how does anyone reconcile loving someone who loves the parts of yourself you hate the most?
when the fireworks clear, all you have left is smoke.
for ed and stede to find something real, something they can hang onto, they're going to have to put in the work. that's how you build the happily ever after. brick by brick.
The feeling of unease since I finished watching 2x06 and 2x07 last night has been hard to shake. I had trouble sleeping because the ending really hurt (break up, again, instead of taking the time to communicate properly to a point of mutual understanding). The fear has crept into me like a cold poison, that after everything they've been through, together and apart, they might decide it's too hard, too messy and even though they love each other, they really need to be apart to grow as people. I really, really hope it doesn't end this way.
Ramblings and spoilers regarding 2x01-2x07 and speculation based on nothing but my hopes and fears for 2x08 below.
This season has really fucked me over emotionally; we waited so long for this show to come back, for the reconciliation, for our gay pirates to explore their lives together. I loved the ride from 2x01 to 2x03 because it was hard but necessary, and I really, really loved the culmination of that part of Ed's journey with the imagery of Mer-Stede representing the love and hope Ed needed to come back. It floored me to tears in such a satisfying way. I now listen to 'This Woman's Work' by Kate Bush when I need to cry hot messy tears.
Then 2x04 and 2x05 gave them some room to grow individually, and take tentative steps towards togetherness. They realise their love is real and present in these episodes, but they don't know how to address or express it properly (and are openly mocked by Anne and Mary for it). They both also more deeply explore their relationships with others: the Fang with Ed, Izzy with Stede conversations were particularly critical as they confront some of the toxic shit they were both carrying with them. We get our long-awaited second kiss, but with a clear boundary set by Ed that Stede immediately respects. It's perfection before it gets awkward and sometimes that's the way love evolves.
Then it goes to shit in 2x06 and 2x07. Stede seemingly unnecessarily pushes his pirate boundaries which is confronting to Ed who is coming to terms with the ongoing effects of his past actions on himself and others. Ed attempts to offer Stede the emotional support he never had but gets swept up by Stede's initiation of physical intimacy. The third kiss is absolutely phenomenal and it's clear that Ed wants this; he knows he loves Stede and knows he wants him physically. Maybe he rationalises that the warmth, intercourse and orgasms as expressions of love will facilitate the emotional journey of it with Stede, despite the rocky path he knows is in front of them.
It doesn't. The scenes in the bar lead up to Ed making a decision to leave; he sees their paths as divergent at best and maybe irreconcilable, so he makes plans to (a) protect himself from more hurt and (b) pursue his quieter post-pirate life, by being away from Stede. He's realised that taking the physical step with Stede (despite wanting to in the moment) was too much, too fast and articulates it to Stede as a 'mistake', which hurts Stede a lot. Stede then fumbles, seemingly not taking Ed's fishing ambition seriously (which I would argue was much more about the shock of Ed's announcement of leaving than anything to do with fucking fishing) and when Ed doubles-down on ending it and leaving, Stede lashes out, calling him a coward.
Sometimes I dare to believe that we're being fed a false dichotomy; that we're being set up to believe their paths are divergent when actually Stede's pirating ambitions are much more to do with wanting to feel a connection to/with Ed rather than fulfilling some intrinsic pirating need. Season 1 Stede said he wanted to be like Ed so he could live a little longer; Ed wanted to be like Stede to experience some quality and depth to his life outside of pirating. Their paths of self discovery and to love are actually each other.
I also wonder how much of a pirate Stede really wants to be; sure, he's had some glory but he's also been on the brink of death multiple times due to his naivete and inexperience and (now) his unfounded confidence/bravado, and he has only survived due to circumstance or others (including Ed) bailing him out. Piracy seems to find him, rather than him actively seeking it out, and when it does happen it seems largely demonstrative for Ed when it's not out of pure necessity. Maybe he would have been just as happy working at Spanish Jackie's or in the Towel Room on Zheng's ship (so long as he was paid and treated properly) while he was looking for Ed, because the purpose of coming back was finding Ed, articulating his love for him, and hopefully building a life together. Unlike the first time he left Mary, coming back was not about being a pirate.
Of course all of this is just speculation driven by my overwhelming need (a) for Ed and Stede to be together, and (b) to believe that lasting, mature love is something you accept you need to explore and work at together, even when it's hard.
